HONORS PROGRAM
20 Years Strong
95% Honors Program Staff Jennifer Townsend, Gary Kelly, Director Jon Goss, Marcy Wilcox and Kathleen O’Leary
Launched in 1997, the highly competitive Honors Program provides high-achieving students with a unique curriculum focused on creative problem-solving at the intersection of science, technology and society. The program also offers unparalleled opportunities for early research, global learning, community engagement and leadership development. For 20 years, the Clarkson Honors Program has drawn diverse, highly motivated students, from across the country and around the world, who represent all majors and intellectual interests. Performing original research and creating new knowledge as an undergraduate is a defining feature for students in the Honors Program. This includes an opportunity for a “pre-frosh” research experience that begins the summer before students start their first year. Over four years, Honors students explore the social and ethical implications of research and consider the status of science, technology and medicine in modern society, as well as what constitutes “dependable knowledge.” A two-semester sophomore course focuses on real-world problems, with teams of students engaged in multidisciplinary
collaboration. All students complete a researchbased thesis, a condition for graduation. “Honors students are highly engaged across campus and beyond, involved in everything from SPEED teams to cutting-edge research and study abroad,” says Jon Goss, professor
PLACEMENT RATE
75% employed 16% in graduate school 4% alternative
The Art of Leadership Introduced in 2017, the Honors Leadership Program is a four-year program designed to introduce and build mastery of leadership theory and practice among all Honors students. Each year is organized around a different leadership-related theme and set of activities, including a leadership retreat, online training, peer group activities and meetings with professional mentors, most of whom are Honors alumni.
Performing original research and creating new knowledge as an undergraduate is a defining feature for students in the Honors Program. and director of the Honors Program and The Clarkson School since 2010. “They participate in varsity and club athletics at higher rates than other Clarkson students. And they are successful, going into rotational leadership programs at major corporations and into PhD programs at prestigious research universities.”
Clarkson University 19
